Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The door is wide open for the next GNAC softball champion to walk through and claim its trophy and the records show that it could be anyone’s to claim.

With no defending champion in the field, Central Washington, Western Oregon, Concordia and Saint Martin’s will all try to stake their claim to the crown when the GNAC Softball Championships begin on Thursday. The double-elimination tournament will be played at the Saint Martin’s softball field in Lacey, Wash.

While Central Washington enters as the regular season champion, a march to the automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament is far from certain when you look at the parity in the conference. All four tournament teams finished within three games of each other in conference play. Central Washington closed the regular season at 18-10, Western Oregon and Concordia tied at 17-11 and Saint Martin’s finished at 16-12. Three of the four teams enter the championship with 30 or more wins. The exception is Western Oregon, which stands at 29 wins.

In addition, each team took at least one game off the other in their four-game regular season series, proving that any one team could win on any given day.

Central Washington, however, enters as the favorite after putting together a temendous season under first year head coach and GNAC Coach of the Year Mike Larabee. Picked to finish fifth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Wildcats enter the tournament having won 10 of their last 12 games. Over their 47 games, the Wildcats have yet to lose more than two in a row. Central Washington leads the GNAC in both batting average (.339) and earned run average (2.89) and ranks in the Division II top-20 in both batting average and stolen bases (2.02 per game).

Kiana Wood, the GNAC Pitcher of the Year, leads Central Washington’s solid pitching staff with a 17-5 record and a 2.51 earned run average. The junior has allowed a .260 opponent’s batting average while striking out 61 in 142 innings.

Offensively, Central Washington boasts three batters ranked within the GNAC’s top-10. First Team All-GNAC first baseman Kailyn Campbell is second in the GNAC and 47th in Division II with her .433 batting average with 45 runs, 13 doubles and seven home runs. Second Team All-GNAC outfielder Celine Fowler is seventh in the GNAC with a .404 average while First Team All-GNAC catcher Austin Wilkerson is batting .458 with a .656 slugging percentage, 25 doubles and eight home runs. Six of Central Washington’s regular position starters enter the tournament with a .300 or better batting average.

Western Oregon made a spirited late season charge to earn the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Entering the final three weeks of the conference season with a 16-17 record, the Wolves closed the regular season by winning 13 of their final 18 games. Western Oregon finished tied with Saint Martin’s for second in the GNAC with a 3.06 earned run average, but have succeeded offensively despite being sixth in the league with a .303 batting average. Not a team to scrimp on heroics, seven of the Wolves’ wins have come on walk-off hits, including three on home runs.

First Team All-GNAC second baseman Kelsie Gardner leads the WOU offense with a .428 batting average and is among the league leaders with 11 stolen bases. Her .513 slugging percentage and 65 hits lead the Wolves. Second Team All-GNAC third baseman Destiny Kuehl is batting .359 with 10 doubles, 12 home runs and 38 RBI while utility player Ashlee Lynch boasts a .317 average with eight home runs.

Sammi Cadwallader leads the Western Oregon pitching staff. The Second Team All-GNAC selection leads the league with a 2.09 earned run average, most of which came in relief appearances. She has compiled an 8-3 record in 21 appearances, allowing 44 runs and striking out 61 in 83.2 innings. Alyson Boytz, an Honorable Mention All-GNAC honoree, compiled a 2.66 earned run average in 22 starts, allowing 75 runs and striking out a GNAC high 78 batters.

The newcomer to the GNAC, Concordia proved that it belongs in the GNAC by tying for second with Western Oregon in the regular season standings. The last team to clinch a spot in the tournament field, the Cavaliers secured their No. 3 seed in the final series of the season, a pair of five-inning wins over Simon Fraser. Concordia enters the championships as the second best hitting team in the league at .331 and fourth with a 3.40 earned run average. The team's .506 slugging percentage, 55 home runs and 287 RBI led the league.

Outfielder Meghan Luebbert, the GNAC Player of the Year, is the prime mover behind the Concordia offense. Lubbert leads the GNAC with a .456 batting average and an impressive .857 slugging percentage to go along with 83 hits, 17 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs and 49 RBI. She enters the tournament with 27 multi-hit games and at one point in the season owned a 19-game hitting streak. First Team All-GNAC third baseman Taylor Copher is fifth in the league with a .423 batting average, registering 15 doubles and seven home runs to go along with 48 RBI. Freshman first baseman McKenzie Smith, a Honorable Mention All-GNAC selection, is batting .398 with nine home runs and 37 RBI.

Jessica Lambourn, a First Team All-GNAC selection as a freshman, leads the Concordia pitching staff with a 14-8 record and a 3.32 earned run average. In 133 innings, Lambourn allowed 89 runs, but just 11 walks while striking out 40. Mattie Boucher started 23 games for the Cavaliers and led the team with her 3.08 earned run average and 81 strikeouts while amassing a 12-8 record.

Saint Martin’s, the tournament host and the No. 4 seed, hopes to avenge last year’s loss in the championship final to Montana State Billings. The Saints amassed a 31-10 record entering the final two weeks of the regular season, but struggled to hold onto their tournament spot after losing eight of their final 10 games. A 9-1 win at Simon Fraser on Friday secured their spot in their tournament. A steady team throughout the season both offensively and defensively, the Saints finished third in the GNAC in both batting average (.314) and earned run average (3.06).

First Team All-GNAC outfielder Mary Dettling paces the Saint Martin’s offense with a .404 batting average, a .570 slugging percentage and 17 doubles. She finished with 21 multi-hit games, including three three-hit games. Second Team All-GNAC outfielder Lauren Diuco enters the tournament hitting .370 with 22 RBI and has had 22 multi-hit games while Second Team All-GNAC selection Jackie Schmaeling is hitting .345 with 16 doubles and 11 stolen bases.

Second Team All-GNAC pitcher Loryn Williams leads Saint Martin’s in the circle. The freshman finished second in the GNAC with a 2.45 earned run average and a 12-6 record in 29 appearances and 19 starts, allowing 62 hits and striking out 76 in 145.2 innings. Kim Nelson finished with the sixth best earned run average in the GNAC at 3.03, compiling a 12-9 record. Nelson also helped the Saints’ cause on offense, leading the team with 37 RBI.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC SOFTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
PLAYER
Meghan Luebbert, Concordia
OF • 5-4 •  Junior • Sandy, Ore.

Luebbert helped Concordia clinch a berth in the GNAC Championships by hitting .550 (11 for 20) in six games with 10 runs, 11 RBI, two triples and a home run. She went 3 for 4 with three runs, three RBI, a triple and a home run in Thursday’s 6-0 shutout of Western Oregon and tied the GNAC record with three home runs while going 4 for 4 with three runs and seven RBI in Sunday’s 16-6, five-inning rout of Simon Fraser.

Also Nominated: Kailyn Campbell (Central Washington), Cassidy Fifield (Northwest Nazarene), Cori Gammon (Montana State Billings), Megan Miller (Saint Martin’s).

PITCHER
Mattie Boucher, Concordia
P • 5-8 • Sophomore  • Chehalis, Wash.

Boucher went 2-1 in three games for Concordia, compiling a 0.71 earned run average. She allowed three runs, two earned, on 16 hits and struck out 18 in 19.2 innings and did not allow a walk. Boucher threw a complete game six-hitter in the Cavs’ 6-0 shutout of Western Oregon on Thursday.

Also Nominated: Kendall Goodwin (Northwest Nazarene), Amanda Roark (Montana State Billings), Makinlee Sellevold (Western Washington), Loryn Williams (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
A COMBINED NO-NO: Before picking up their GNAC Championships spot, Western Oregon made some history as three pitchers combined to no-hit non-conference Northwest Christian on Apr. 19. Sammi Cadwallader, Stephanie Morgan and Haley Fabian combined to allow just three walks and strike out 11 for the 6-0 victory in Tuesday’s nightcap. It is the 21st no-hitter in GNAC history and the third for Western Oregon since the founding of the conference in 2001 (their first since 2004). It is also the first time that three pitchers have combined for the no-no.

Cadwallader was strong in the start, allowing one walk and striking out six in three innings before yielding to Morgan, who earned the win after allowing one walk and striking out one in the fourth. Fabian closed the door, allowing just one walk and striking out four to record her second save of the season.

SHE HITS IT LONG, SHE HITS IT DEEP...: With a playoff berth on the line, Concordia used the long ball in a record-setting way to secure their GNAC Championships berth. The Cavaliers smashed seven home runs in their 16-6, five-inning win over the Clan, five of which came in the fifth innings. That broke the record of six home runs set by three teams, most recently Northwest Nazarene vs. Central Washington in 2011. In the process, Meghan Luebbert hit three home runs on her own, tying the conference record set by Central Washington’s Samantha Petrich in 2010 and equalled by Western Oregon’s Bridjet Box in 2014.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: Central Washington moved up two spots in the Apr. 22 NCAA West Region Rankings, up to No. 4 after being ranked No. 6 in the opening rankings last week. Western Washington is ranked No. 10 after not being listed in the first week rankings. Saint Martin’s, which was ranked ninth last week, is out of the rankings this week. Humboldt State, with a 45-2-1 in-region record, continues to top the regional rankings. The next regional ranking will be released on Wednesday.

TICKETS FOR GNAC CHAMPIONSHIPS ON SALE NOW: Tickets are now available for the 2016 GNAC Softball Championships, which take place Apr. 28-30 on the campus of Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash. Tournament passes purchased online prior to the event are $14 for adults and $8 for seniors, students and children. Single-session tickets will be available for $7 for adults and $4 for seniors, students and children. Online ticket sales end on Wed., Apr. 27. At the gate, tickets will be $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, students and children. Children two-years-old and under are admitted free. Purchase Tickets